In 1979, Bill Moggridge released the Grid Compass, the first portable computer with a design similar to that of a seashell, i.e. the clamshell design on which all laptops are designed today. He was not the first to have the idea of producing a laptop, but he was the first to produce this portable computer that was later used by NASA and the American army. In 2010 Moggridge received the Prince Philip Designers Prize, the oldest award for design awarded in the UK.
Although Moggridge's device did not have a hard disk or a floppy drive, it was appreciated by researchers, and a few years later it reached the American market. Without Moggridge's inventiveness, it would probably have been a few more years before someone would have thought of building something similar, and the world will miss the famous inventor. Bill Moggridge he passed away during this night at the age of 69 after a long battle against cancer.
